WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
"What, us add to the debt?" For heaven's sake, who are we kidding?
We'll expect to be back to our usual task of saving the world by the start of next week. For today, as the madnesses keep piling up, we'll start by directing you to this report about the latest gong show:
Bessent Straight Up Claims Trump’s $5K Checks Can Go Out Without Adding to the Debt
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wildly insisted on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 checks to Americans could be sent out without adding to the national debt.
The president first floated the plan during last week’s Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, promising to send the money if the GOP retains control of Congress in the midterms. He’s said he doesn’t think the checks will require congressional approval and has pointed to tariff revenue and more than $20 trillion in claimed U.S. investment to justify the proposal.
Those figures have been disputed. CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale noted tariff revenue falls far short of the roughly $1.3 trillion estimated cost of the checks, while calling Trump’s $20 trillion investment figure “fiction.”
And so on from there, with videotape provided.
But yes, that basic report seems to be accurate. Yesterday, in a congressional hearing, Bessent seemed to say that he could hand out $1.3 trillion in checks 1) without adding to the annual deficit and therefore 2) without adding to our rapidly growing national debt.
Yes, that seems to be what he said. Yes, he seems to have said it!
We expect to be back Monday morning, perhaps with a new, improved attitude and tone. But just for the record, Jared Bernstein offers this guest essay in today's New York Times:
The National Debt Never Scared Me. It Scares Me.
[...]
For years, I wasn’t an alarmist about the national debt. During the Biden administration, I even criticized those calling for more austere budget policy; I thought that fiscal austerity would do more harm than good.
Our fiscal reality has changed significantly since those days, and so has my stance on public debt. Here’s why:
Bernstein was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Biden administration. He goes on from there to explain.
As we've noted in the recent past, Bernstein has recently written other such columns, as has Paul Krugman. But it seems that nothing is going to stop the flow of the madnesses from the current administration.
In truth, discussions of policy topics like this barely exist at this point. Our discourse has been swallowed by the serial tabloid lunacies of the sitting president, lunacies whose fairly obvious (medical) origin our scribes agree not to discuss.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd how retarded Dumbocrats are so enthusiastic about "Medicare for All", for free higher education, for free hotels and endless free money for illegal aliens, and even for free grocery stores (in NYC), while sending lousy $5K to every citizen is a total armageddon.
Oh well, it's not really odd. They are, after all, Dumbocrats.
Trump made an empty promise to buy votes. It isn’t real.
DeleteDems do not say those things are free, they are paid for primarily by taxes, with the idea being that we spend tax revenues on our citizens rather than spending it on bombs and handouts to billionaires.
DeleteOn "your" citizens? So, when you Dumbocrats send $100 million worth of condoms to Mozambique, that's where "your citizens" are?
DeleteThe $7 million spent globally in 2023 on male condoms, helps prevent the spread of diseases and is a form of soft power, so yes, while your number is hilariously off, programs like USAID help our citizens quite a bit, while costing us next to nothing.
DeleteOn the other hand, we could and do spend trillions on weapons to kill people and welfare for corporations and the wealthy, it all comes down to whether you are a normal human being or a psycho.
Mao is a fucking nutso psycho who hasn't fucking figured out that there is no "B" in dum the dumb fuck.
Deleteanon MAGA visitor. You MAGA zealots just love to call people "retards." it's so cool in its braindeadness.. There was a movie, Dumb and Dumber. If they made another sequel, you could play Dumbest.
Delete
DeleteSqueal, squeal, retarded Dumbocrats.
anon 5:55, I give up. Just can't match wits with youm being a "retarded dumbocrat."
DeleteMedicare for all would save trillions in healthcare costs, but we be the, as the President keeps fucking explaining to us, the dum ones???
DeleteTrump's proposal is fiscally crazy, but so is the current budget. We now have option A. Trump proposes option B:
ReplyDeleteA. $40 trillion debt growing by $2 trillion a year
B. $41 trillion debt growing by $2 trillion a year
I think these would look pretty identical to most people.
(To be clear, IMO both options will lead to some sort of horrible disaster in a few years. Option B will get us there 6 months sooner.)
Let’s all spend like drunken soldiers since our debt is already so high? That isn’t how responsible people think or behave.
DeleteTrump, a member of the party of fiscal responsibility, promised to reduce/eliminate the debt, causing all those financially responsible republicans like DiC to enthusiastically vote for him. In fact, he is the worst-spending President in our history. (His profligate spending was evident during his first term). Oh well, all politicians lie, right? At least he’s cruel to brown people and those loser women, gays, and trans are no longer serving our nation in uniform.
DeleteIncreasing the National Debt by 2.5% overnight is not a rounding error. This proposal gives clarity to why Trump was a failed businessman (except as regards money laundering) and Republican administrations have performed miserably over the past 60 years c/w Democratic ones in virtually all parameters of economic health (job growth, GDP growth, inflation, etc.). There is a reason for this, and a big part of it comes from the failure of Reaganomics unnecessary military adventures, and the constant need to give tax breaks to the rich..
DeleteBy the way, DiC apparently didn’t get Bessent’s memo: the 5K won’t add to the debt!
DeleteDiC may be the dumbest troll, but he is reliably dumb.
DeleteGive credit where credit is due.
DiC, like most people, (especially the idiot president rapist), does not know there is a "B" in dum.
DeleteDickhead is a fucking fraud and a lying cunt
DeleteDavid is not a cunt.
DeleteAgree, he is not a cunt.
DeleteHe is a lying cunt.
Hunh. I remember when David defended the DOGE budget cuts because, even though they were small, they moved toward a smaller deficit. The cost of these checks will dwarf the DOGE "savings."
DeleteI'm still waiting for the DOGE savings QiB. They must be right around the corner... At least Elon and Putin have all our data now, so that's cool.
DeleteFunny thing, DiC, I'm old enough to remember how excited you got when Musk and the kids from DOGE were cutting the budget in little $5 and $10 million slivers (making sure those starving kids didn't get any peanut paste).
DeleteNow $1 trillion just makes you shrug.
Sorry Quaker, I see you beat me to the punch. But doesn't hurt to reinforce the message.
DeleteI've done the same a hundred times, Hector. Carry on.
Delete“ In truth, discussions of policy topics like this barely exist at this point. ”
ReplyDeleteNo, discussions have not been swallowed up by tabloid lunacies. Discussions are futile when nothing can be done by the left to stop Trump’s destruction of our economy. Discussions may resume after the midterm election.
It's a democracy. For a democracy to work, you need an informed populace. In order to get an informed populace, you need a news media that informs them. What we have is a news media obsessed with sensationalism and "balance," when there is, in fact, no "balance:" one side has gone off the rails, and claims that, in fact, there were no rails in the first place.
DeleteThis is, BTW, because that populace WANTS sensationalism, and prefers stage-managed drama to objective, fact-based journalism; thus, the for-profit news media is giving them what they want. It's an accelerating downward spiral: people want un-informative news, but the more they get of it, the worse their decision making is, which results in more drama to keep their attention. This has been going on since cable news exploded, and it's how we ended up with Trump.
In the last 25 years, we've had two of the worst presidents in history, including the one who will almost certainly end up being considered THE worst. I don't think that's the product of random chance.
Fair point but the problem is not so much an uninformed populace, particularly in recent years with independent media.
DeleteCorporate media is bad, but not one of the more significant issues.
Success in our society is a function of two main things: privilege and happenstance.
The issues are deeper in our society.
"... the problem is not so much an uninformed populace, particularly in recent years with independent media."
DeleteThe problem is entirely a poorly informed populace, that is uninformed by choice. The majority of people don't pay attention to, or hold in high regard, "independent media," much of which simply consists of re-hashing what it gets from "corporate media" in the first place. How anyone could look at the wild, dumb beliefs held by majorities and near-majorities of the public and conclude an under-informed public isn't the problem, particularly in what is still a more-or-less democratic society, is astonishing.
I hear you, while your point might be valid, it is not sound (in part because you seem to be uniformed on certain things).
DeleteThe issue is more about personality traits and their causes.
My point is valid, but not sound, because I'm uninformed on certain (undisclosed) things. OK.
DeleteAt least I was heard. I can feel good about that.
It can feel good to learn new things even if initially it feels challenging.
DeleteTry it sometime.
I’m uninformed on most things.
DeleteWord.
DeleteHave you heard the word? Thunderbird,
DeleteI'm not aware of too many things, I know what I know if you know what I mean.
DeleteSome things are unknowable.
I see the problem as that the electoral process is being run by corporations, billionaires and foreign influence on behalf of candidates who will cater to the wealthy. We used to have laws governing campaign finance. Now we have corruption emerging from PACs, dark money in politics, and blatant bribery of elected officials, especially the president.
Deleteanon 4:01, everyone, all sides, are uninformed about loads of things. there is too much out there, and it keeps growing. As Socrates is said to have said, the more you know, the more you know that you don't know.
DeleteThat isn’t what that saying means.
DeleteSocrates was a figment of Plato’s imagination.
Delete5:38,
DeletePublicly-funded only election campaigns, FTW!
"We used to have laws governing campaign finance" until the Repukes on the USSC fucked us all. One of the first steps of the Federalist Society and the founders of Project 2025 to end free and fair elections. Can't have poor people voting for rich peoples money.
DeleteLets support Thomas massie’s impeachment motion against hegseth.
ReplyDeleteA problem: lickspittle Mike Johnson cut Congress loose until after the mid-terms.
DeleteIf Dems win the house, they should impeach the entire cabinet.
DeleteMike Johnson is so fucking creepy, from "marrying" his daughter to own her virginity, to having his son keep tabs on his usage of porn, to allegedly having a Grindr account and living on the DL.
DeleteThat's hot. Do you have his #? I'd love to play with Johnson's Johnson.
DeleteWhat is unfolding inside the Democratic Party right now is the same kind of collapse of an old order that produced Donald Trump’s hostile takeover of the Republican Party. The common thread on both sides is economic anxiety, a sense of a broken promise.
Delete"Economic anxiety" was never anything more than the press corps inventing cover for the bigotry and parochialism of the white working class, who deserve to be coddled rather than confronted with a mirror. After Trump's disastrous economic policies and despite that, the enduring support the white working class offers Trump, even the press corps stopped with that bit of bullshit; now they simply ignore what might motivate white working class people to vote for Trump, because, once again, white working class people have earned the right to be coddled. Also, as everyone knows, the white working class are the rock-ribbed backbone of the country, and are strong believers in personal responsibility. That's how they earned the right to be coddled by the press corps.
Deleteeconomically anxious = mad because I can't use the n-word in public without getting shit for it
DeleteIn this case "economic anxiousness" means fearful about money. Eg DSA voters are "economically anxious".
Delete(Despite the Democrats’ history as an organ of the ruling class, many lefty journalists fantasize the party is a level playing field. )
DeleteI don't think 'economic anxiety' is the best explanation.
I think it's general disillusionment and widespread (and well-deserved) cynicism. Mostly on the Dumbocrat side. A result of 8 years of non-stop bullshit by one nobel peace prize laureate. Which led to The Rise Of The Donald, as it made even some severely retarded Dumbocrats feel insulted.
...and the 4-year rule of Demented Autopen didn't help either...
True. Obama's overt fascism was an enormous failure for people.
DeleteAnything overt is better than endless retarded Dumbocrat bullshit.
Delete"I think it's general disillusionment and widespread (and well-deserved) cynicism. Mostly on the Dumbocrat side."
DeleteSo Democrats are responsible for the overwhelming support Trump gets from ... Republicans. Tell your parents (probably gratefully in the grave) their attempts at knocking sense into you by repeatedly ramming your head into a brick wall didn't work.
If from "widespread disillusionment on the Dumbocrat side" you somehow conclude that what was said is that "Dumbocrats are responsible for the [alleged] overwhelming support Trump gets from Republicans", then you just might be a Dumbocrat.
DeleteSome of the commenters here are blinded by partisanship and not very smart to begin with it. An unfortunate combination.
DeleteRepublicans selected Trump. Republicans voted for Trump. Republicans support Trump as he and his corrupt lackeys crumble and loot the country. Republicans are responsible for it. You, in your head-rammed addlement, by trying to shift the blame to Democrats for what Republicans do, are doing your part. Fortunately, your influence is limited to trying to troll in the message section of a failed blog.
DeleteDid you forgive your parents for not smashing your head into the wall harder and more often? I don't.
We might as well be calling Natalie Harp "autopen" since no one believes Trump creats his own Truth Social posts or wastes time away from golf signing things.
DeleteAmerican people, ordinary American people voted for Trump, Dumbocrat.
DeleteThey didn't vote for any Dumbocrat candidate in the last three presidential elections. Cope with it, Dumbocrat.
There is no "B" in dum, you fucking idiot Mao. You need to get with the pogrom.
DeleteSome foreign smartass said half of his countries' cabinet members have Phd's, with the rest experts in their field; and zero of Trump's loons in his cabinet meet this criteria. Well I say to him, half our cabinet are Billionaires, so suck on that bitch!
DeleteUnlike a PhD, being a billionaire is unearned. Those with PhDs are held to a strict ethical standard in their field of expertise. Billionaires become billionaires by being unethical and often corrupt, which is highly regarded by others who think money is all that matters in life.
DeletePsychologically, most billionaires are hoarders with the same pathologies as those who hoard newspaper, used clothing or knick-knacks. They just hoard money in the same obsessive way as those whose houses fill up with junk.
Those billionaires appointed by Trump are still engaged in their money hoarding, and not doing the jobs they were appointed to do, because they are not capable of doing anything else, and because they cannot stop the accumulation of wealth in order to serve their nation. The other half of Trump's cabinet consists of nutcases who hoard road kill, abuse steroids and use govt jets to pursue their own pleasure (much as Trump does).
I was trying to be snarcastic.
Delete“ In September 2026, Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar requested that the country's Population and Immigration Authority investigate revoking the citizenship of Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the Oscar-winning co-directors of the documentary NAZA. Additionally, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir publicly condemned the filmmakers, telling them to leave the country”
ReplyDeleteDamn Jew Hater!!! /jk
DeleteYou try eating tabouli and challah every Friday night, you'll see.
DeleteSand food is good for you. We eat it all the time.
DeleteI’m not noticing a new tone.
ReplyDeleteHad to push that back to next week, dontcha' know.
DeleteThe tone that didn't bark.
DeleteTrump said it plainly, if we vote in Republicans he will send us all $5k.
ReplyDeleteIs Somerby skeptical of this?
It is what the guy said. If someone says something, they must mean it.
Right?
Absolutely! I heard he will definitely add the DOGE refund check, and the previous tariff refund check, plus interest, into one big beautiful check to all of us white Republicans. Isn't he wonderful? And ain't white Republican people fucking deluded idiots?
Delete"Trump may really believe he will give each voter $5,000 as a payment for electing Republicans."
DeleteBob Somerby, probably.
Comment doesn't parse. What are you trying to say?
DeleteThe House voted to hold Leon Black in contempt for refusing to comply with subpoenas in the Epstein investigation.
ReplyDeleteTrump is all over those files.
DeleteThe Epstein Files are a Who's Who of the Republican Party.
DeleteWould I rather get five thousand to spend on McDonalds and knickknacks made in China, or Medicare For All?
ReplyDeleteDumb question since the answer for most people is obvious, Medicare For All would revolutionary in a positive way.
With Trump/MAGA ruining the GOP, one of the few ways for Republicans to redeem themselves would be to pass Medicare For All.
I heard the fucking jackasses have a "concept of a plan" for healthcare. Just a pile of lying losers be Republicans. Apparently that us their main attraction to voters, or hating negroes.
DeleteRacism is fundamental to Republicans.
DeleteIt is funny when old trolls try to hide behind new names.
ReplyDeleteI’m anonymous.
DeleteAn Anon complains about hiding? Now that is funny!
DeleteBigots hide behind their religion 24/7.
DeleteAll nyms are fake names. It doesn't matter whether they are "anonymous" or "DG".
DeleteAnonymouse 9:51am, if you have a verified nym (call it a nickname) you are distinguishable from other commenters. That gives you accountability for what you say from one day to the next.
DeleteYes.
DeleteThere is no "accountability" for anyone here. Each commenter is distinguishable by a time stamp, but even more by the contents of their comment. If the trolls here would focus on addressing the content of comments instead of attacking people via name-calling there could be actual discussion. Ideas are what matter, not who someone is -- not that any person here uses their real name other than Bob Somerby, who is probably the most evasive writer here.
DeleteNote that Cecelia has been using a nym forever but we still have no idea whether "she" is male or female, lives in the USA or works on an Eastern European troll farm, is paid or devoted to trolling for the fun of it, or even holds consistent political opinions. The best that can be said for using a nym is that it allows others to skip over your comments without reading them, but why would someone take the time to create a comment and then encourage others not to read it?
Somerby has no interest in "accountability" among commenters at his blog. If he did, he could have selected a system such as Disquis to track comments.
Because of Somerby relatively unique history of being first liberal and then turning conservative in 2015, he has attracted a mix of liberal and conservative commenters. That makes this a more interesting comment section than at many of other blogs. The paid trolls and bots interfere with that.
Fuck off gross ass Trannytroll.
DeleteCecelia is female.
DeleteWe do know that Cecelia is either poorly educated or a non-native speaker of English, because of her many language errors and sometimes funny misuse of "big" words she doesn't know the meanings of.
DeleteWhat does she even mean by "verified nym"? There is no official verifying nyms here. Remember when Cecelia used to refer to anonymous commenters as mouse, mice, even moose? Her point was not to verify anyone but to attack and mock other commenters, just like DG does.
The purpose of such attacks is to clog the comment section with wasted words, interfering with actual discussion, especially in threads where liberals are actively discussing a topic. Just like the troll who posted huge amounts of empty space (making it difficult to scroll to actual content), and trolls who post a single word over and over filling up comment space. And the troll using AI to generate non-responsive text disrupting discussion. These trolls couldn't be more effective if their purpose were to drive off actual commenters and stifle response to Somerby's posts.
I never hear Cecelia complaining that those guys need to get a nym.
There is no evidence that Cecelia is female. Choosing a female nym doesn't make someone female any more than wearing a dress does. A right wing person using a female nym in order to comment on culture war issues is suspicious, especially when Cecelia shows a lack of empathy uncharacteristic of women in general, fails to support women's issues, and often has an oddly male perspective. It takes more than a nym to actually be female.
DeleteBut no one really knows who anyone else really is on the internet. I dislike the term "tranny" because it is misapplied and clearly derogatory. But I also dislike Cecelia because of her many ugly statements here. It seems a bit unfair to imply that all of Cecelias deficiencies are shared by others who are trans, or who pretend to be trans on the internet, or who are not trans but come across that way.
Perhaps Cecelia has some way of verifying her gender so that we can hold these random commenters calling her a tranny "accountable" for their name-calling? No?
12:38 — I’m howling at your utter absence of self-awareness:
Delete“If the trolls here would focus on addressing the content of comments instead of attacking people via name-calling”
“…that gives you accountability….” Accountability implies that there will be repercussions. There are none here. I had a nym, my WiFi was changed, and I suddenly became anon. My laptop identifies this site as suspicious. To register a nym on this site requires inputting information. Not doing it. I have no issues with the comments of other snobs including the ones that I take issue with. Get over yourself.
DeleteSnobs= anons
DeleteExactly 1:21.
DeleteI guess you spend your time wondering whether CC is male or trans because resolving this issue requires a highly-educated and erudite discussion of liberal ideas. (Or perhaps you just like whacking off to the thought.)
Deletewha?
DeleteRep. Massie's impeachment resolution of Hegseth, introduced today:
ReplyDeleteArticle I charges Hegseth with "waging the Iran war despite no declaration of war, statutory authorization, attack on the United States, or imminent threat."
Article V charges Hegseth with "replacing maritime law enforcement with unauthorized lethal military targeting of suspected drug traffickers, resulting in at least 221 deaths."
Both charges are incontrovertible.
“Incontrovertible”
DeleteTherefore Alito and Thomas will find a reason to controvert
Trump claims Butler assassination attempt was a 'Democrat Plot' without showing evidence
ReplyDeleteHahaha 😂 the fucking media is so credulous. After 10 fucking nightmare years of his fucking lies they still want to wait for his evidence! lol 😂
Trump is making a joke, here.
DeleteLike people who say there is a Republican voter who isn't a bigot, do.
It's just for yuks.
This shouldn't be legal:
ReplyDelete"On Wednesday, Trump showed up in Gastonia, North Carolina, to stump for GOP Senate nominee Michael Whatley, and he told the voters at the rally that Whatley had to win if the state were to receive any additional FEMA funding as the state continues to recover from Hurricane Helene.
"We spent more than $2 billion in FEMA funding, and you know you're waiting for some additional money," Trump reminded his rally attendees. "I'm going to get that to you, Michael. Now, if Michael loses, I'm not sending it."
He is just a gross ass corrupt dimwitted dithering old imbecile. All this BS about the evil the Dems are gonna do; when we can see right now what the the dumb ass Trump and his dumb ass cult are up to in real time. Destroying higher education, destroying medical research, promoting bullshit conspiracy theories, losing wars like nobody else has seen before, and bankrupting the country. Great plank to run on ainnit?
Delete“This shouldn't be legal:”
DeleteAccording to Grand Wizard of the Supreme Court, it is impossible for orange felon to do anything illegal